Lost, stolen or forgotten identification cards are keeping homeless and low-income people from accessing essential services, or in the case of Rob Ritchie, dishing out $3,000 for a hospital bill he can’t afford to pay.

“I’ve had a problem with transiency off and on in my life, sometimes falling into homelessness,” Ritchie said, sitting at a table in the Windsor Youth Centre.

Ritchie, 26, said he used to struggle with addiction.

“It’s so much easier to just be an addict, not worry about your bills,” he said.

Ritchie is one of numerous homeless youth and adults in Windsor whose lack of identification makes it harder to access essential services or improve their circumstances by finding a job or a subsidized apartment.

While Ritchie was homeless, he had to have a surgery at the hospital. Afterwards a bill for more than $3,000 was sent to his parents’ house. He can’t afford to pay it. Although he now has a health card, he’s been told the fee stands, he said.

“If you don’t have a fixed address, it’s almost impossible to get your ID,” Ritchie said. “You have to prove your address in order to get your health card. You have to have your health card in order to get anything else.”

The problem is one Tamara Kowalska hears nearly every day.

Kowalska, one of the coordinators of the youth centre, said she’s now begun taking donations to cover the cost of ID card replacement for youth who find the $35 replacement fee out of reach.

“A lot of youth end up continuing to couch-surf without the possibility of stable housing. They sometimes don’t access health care. They are essentially slipping through the cracks simply because they can’t get the ID,” she said.

She said there are plenty of reasons for not having a health card, photo identity card, or birth certificate.

Some youth have fled an abusive environment and left belongings, including identification, behind. Others have their bags stolen on the street or while staying at a shelter.

Some youth share stories of losing their possessions or having things stored at multiple locations across the city. Without money to pay for the bus, walking to each location to retrieve them could take days.

Kowalska said in most cases, institutions are willing to work with her to ensure youth still get access to health care. Often hospitals can look up health card numbers or use a service like the youth centre to have someone vouch for the person’s identity.

“The problem is there are still a lot who may not have a health card on them and are not receiving proper health care because they’re afraid to admit they don’t have a health card,” Kowalska said.

Joanne Woodward Fraser, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, told The Star in an email hospitals are obligated to treat someone if the refusal would endanger the patient’s life, whether or not that person has a valid health card.

“A patient without a valid health card may be billed directly for a service. However, if billed, the person is to be reimbursed in full if he or she subsequently presents proof of OHIP eligibility to the provider,” she said.

Karen Plunkett, director of Street Health community programs and Hep C, said they used to help people access health cards. Recently the government put in new restrictions to help curb health card fraud, leaving Street Health unable to help with those applications any longer other than directing clients to the right services.

Woodward Fraser said now organizations that support the homeless have to sign an agreement with Service Ontario to be able to assist with health card registration.

Ritchie said no ID also means no bank account.

“In order to cash a cheque I’ve got to go to Money Mart and that costs me money every time I go,” he said.

Lively discourse is the lifeblood of any healthy democracy and The Star encourages readers to engage in robust debates about our stories. But, please, avoid personal attacks and keep your comments respectful and relevant. If you encounter abusive comments, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. The Star is Using Facebook Comments. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

I don’t know about impossible, but given that it’s taken almost 20 years to churn out five instalments of this series – something the early Bond franchise managed in six years, and the 1960s M:I TV show in just six weeks – these missions are certainly a lot of work